From getting a quick read between each bite at breakfast to settling out by the pool for the day, some people are just inseparable from their books! That is, until they finish reading… This is the true story of lost and forgotten books.
Fifty Shades of Grey, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and The Hunger Games.
Seemingly unrelated, but having more in common that meets the eye. All three novels are the first of a trilogy, with each featuring a striking heroine as the main character. However, the most surprising trait shared amongst the books? The tendency to find them left behind in your local hotel!
Whether the it’s the eroticism of 50 Shades of Grey, the fantasy in The Hunger Games or the thrill on every page in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Brits have found a way to flee reality through trilogies, according to research by Travelodge.
During the last 12 months, around 21,786 books have been left behind in 36,500 Travelodge hotel rooms. Of the thousands of forgotten books, Travelodge notes that these fictitious trilogies are dominating the hotel chain’s annual Top 10 Books Left Behind index.
Of course, not all the books were lost or forgotten. Besides the accidental lapse in memory, research reveals the two other most common reasons why guests leave behind their books:
1) Leaving heavy books behind is a good way of lightening the weight of luggage (prevalent for airport hotel guests.
2) Finished reading the book and leaving for the next guest to enjoy.
Although it’s sometimes saddening to let go of a good read, there’s almost a giddy excitement when imagining someone else picking up your “lost” book and getting caught up into the plot just as you did. Maybe there’s even the hope that they too will leave it behind one day! The pay it forward of literature, perhaps?
Since trilogies hog up the top 10, provided below is the top 20 for your reading enjoyment… (and perhaps movie watching enjoyment too since many of these novels have been adapted to film!).
1. Fifty Shades of Grey (E.L. James)
2. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson)
3. The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest (Stieg Larsson)
4. Fifty Shades Freed (E.L. James)
5. The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
6. The Girl Who Played With Fire (Stieg Larsson)
7. Fifty Shades Darker (E.L. James)
8. Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins)
9. Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins)
10. The Help (Kathryn Stockett)
11. One Day (David Nicholls)
12. A Tiny Bit Marvellous (Dawn French)
13. Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography (Steve Jobs)
14. Diary Of A Wimpy Kid (Jeff Kinney)
15. The Brightest Star In The Sky (Marian Keyes)
16. The Fry Chronicles (Stephen Fry)
17. Room (Emma Donoghue)
18. StrengthsFinder 2.0 (Tom Rath)
19. The Confession (John Grisham)
20. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (John Le Carre)
